


A Public Relation Nightmare

by 6114261



Category: The Boys (TV 2019)
Genre: Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Manipulation, Manipulative Relationship, Past Child Abuse, Possessive Behavior, Post-Season/Series 02, Spoilers, Superheroes, Unethical Experimentation, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:35:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6114261/pseuds/6114261
Summary: Capable of emotional manipulation Aida chose the corporate ladder instead of the cape, managing Vought’s B-team in Washington and soothing the egos on the Hill when needed.But after the Stormfront revelation, she is brought back into Homelander’s orbit. Tasked with bringing the Homelander to heal and putting a positive spin on the current clusterfuck that makes up the world's mightiest heroes.
Relationships: The Homelander | John & Starlight | Annie January, The Homelander | John/Madelyn Stillwell, The Homelander | John/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 148





	1. The Homelander

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any of the characters and would not be able to write anything nearly as good or violent as the Boys. But until I get a season three I will have to imagine it and decided to share my musings with you.

### Prologue

Being in the compound had become a choice. He no longer craved Dr Vogelbaum’s approval. He didn’t need it. He didn’t want it. He only wanted to be the best, he wanted to be worshipped the way he deserved. And he would be, as soon as he become what he was meant to be, the mightiest superhero to ever walk the earth. The Homelander.

So to find a little girl, the first child he had ever seen with his own eyes, surrounded by the nurses and staff, cooing at her as if she was something special made him clench his jaw. But before he approached he forced a smile on his lips, he had a brand to maintain. He had been working hard on it for the last few years.

Even from a distance, he could see her perfectly. Like the nurse in front of her, the child had brown hair, almost the colour of hot chocolate. But unlike the nurse, he could smell no artificial colouring from her. He couldn’t see her face from the angle he was coming from, but it gave him a perfect view of her adoring audience, and much to his annoyance he noted that some of the strain he sometimes saw when they smiled at him wasn’t there. He did, however, note a hint of almost fearful anticipation entering the senior nurse’ eyes as she saw him approach. 

“Hello.” He greeted, smiling at the adults before looking down at the child who had now turned to look at him as well. Her eyes were almost the colour of her hair, her skin glowed with a faint tan, and her lips were stretched into a smile. He lowered himself to her hight and increased the voltage of his own smile. “I’m John. Who are you?”

She didn’t respond but rather than annoy him as he had expected he found his smile becoming genuine. The annoyance was still there but seemed irrelevant in comparison. 

“Her name is Aida.” One of the nurses informed him, he didn’t lookup. 

“Aida, are you here with your mom?” He asked the girl instead.

“She-” the nurse began, as she physically stopped herself from moving forward and creating a distance between John and the girl.

“John!” Dr Vouglbaum called out as he entered the room, causing the preteen to stand up to greet the doctor, as the doctor moved towards the group.

“Doctor”

“Your test ended early?”

“They got everything they needed from the first attempt,” he informed him.

“Good. I see you’ve met.” He glanced away from John and towards the girl, who waved a greeting before he refocused on John. “Let’s go to my office.”

“Who is she?” John asked as they left the canteen, and he felt his earlier annoyance return.

“Her name is Aida Ducasse. Like you, she was exposed to compound V as a newborn.”

“She has powers?” He asked, sounding genuinely curious for the first time.

“Yes, we are not sure exactly what. After leaving the hospital after her birth we lost track of her. The reason we found her was an attempted murder.”

“She tried to kill someone?” He asked.

“No, her mother did. It seems Aida can influence emotions. Her mother believes she can impose her emotions on others and thought she was in severe pain, but couldn’t figure out how to help her any other way than death. However, we have seen indications of something quite different. Most babies cry to get attention, we think Aida would influence emotions, not just impose her own. When she was in pain her mother would come quickly, feed her, hug her etc. As such she is likely to have used pain to get her way, the same way most children cry when they want something. We are going to help her understand her abilities. That is why she is here.” 

Apart from their first meeting the girl had little impact on his life. Months would pass and beyond seeing her in his peripheral vision he never saw her. Dr Vogelbaum held them separated from each other, through John’s mind often wandered to the girl. She was the first supe, other than himself, he had ever met. Yet she seemed so ordinary, so disappointing. But he heard the doctors talking about her at times when they didn’t think he could hear. Apparently, she was more interesting than he had thought. He had thought emotion useless things, but she could sharpen them into a blade. Even Vogelbaum had difficulties with her, it was not easy to ignore soul-crushing regret or pain one could not pinpoint. But what seemed to be the girl’s greatest strength was her ability to make people happy when they did something she liked. It made people want to please her. He could learn from that.

It would be almost three years before John found himself in the same room as the girl again, this time on Dr Vogelbaum’s orders. She looked quite different, he had seen her through the walls now and then over the years, but this was the first time he had really looked at her. Unlike last time he did not feel particularly happy to interact with her. Which made him wonder if she had been responsible for it last time. He did not like that thought; that she had the power to influence him so easily.

“Hello.” He greeted, putting on a smile. She glanced up at him from her seat and leaned her head slightly to the side as she observed him.

“You look normal.” She finally told him instead of returning the greeting. Rude.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I thought you were a superhero, Soldier Boy has a special suit. Don’t you have one?”

“Not yet.” Dr Vougelbaum answered for him, as he closed the door behind him. “Once he is an adult he will. Perhaps you will too.”

“I wanna work with Madelyn.” She told him instead. “I don't want to be a hero.”

“We will see.” He said, with a small smile that made John narrow his eyes. The smile however disappeared as he looked back at John. 

“John, I’m sure you remember Aida.” At his words, John relaxed and nodded. “I would like to see if her abilities affect you. We will do an initial test now.” 

At John’s nod, Vogelbaum turned to Aida. “Happy, level 4.” 

Almost the second the words were spoken he felt… he wasn’t sure how to describe it. It was similar to what he felt when they noted his powers levelled up, but lacking the satisfaction that would accompany it. Perhaps this was how a child perceived happiness.

“John?” in response he smiled and Vogelbaum nodded. “Sad, level 3.”

As abruptly as the feeling had come and a new feeling took its place. This one was easily placed and the nod came quicker.

“Love. Mother.” The distinction sounded strange to John. But he didn’t have much time to think about it before he was cocooned in something he could not place. But he knew in absolute certainty he was safe, that nothing could harm him. Though his mind kept telling him something quite different.

“What are you feeling, John?” Vogelbaum asked, his voice clinical. 

“Safe.” It was the best way he could explain it. 

“Excellent, you may stop Aida. We will continue this tomorrow, 0800. Room 3.”

\-----------------------

### Chapter 1: The Homelander

There was something to be said about growing up within Vought, they certainly promoted from within. But in all fairness, she was not sure that was a good thing at the moment. She had liked her life in Washington, liked being head of hero management of Payback. Getting the Seven was a huge promotion, but with the Seven came the Homelander, John.

Madelyn had only been gone for a few months, she wasn’t sure who had actually killed her, Butcher or John. But either way, she felt responsible. She had without a doubt been crucial to Madelyn’s rise within Vought, and in return, Madelyn had protected her from John and claimed her as family.

Before Homelander had requested for Madelyn to become head of Hero Management of the Seven she had been in Washington, ensuring things went Vought’s way on the Hill and with the press. That was how they had initially met, on Aida’s first assignment. She had still been a kid at the time and had had little to no interaction with John. She had gone with Madelyn under the guise of being her niece to a press conference and made sure the reporters she was meeting were more receptive and inclined to listen. 

While her powers would have no effect the second they were out of her range, those minutes of genuine interest while Madelyn spoke were usually enough to sway most, if not all, of them. 

It was a lucrative partnership and with time Madalyn had become as close to family as she would get. Aida had even chosen to take her surname and moved it with her when she left the compound and attended Georgetown. Giving her an education while keeping her close enough to lend a hand when needed.

It was during her time in Georgetown Homelander had started showing up in their apartment. At first it was similar to the compound. He would ask her to make him feel things he was curious about or things he didn’t understand. John was damaged, even at a young age, she could tell that much. Shortly after they had started working together he had started coming to her to confirm emotions he wasn’t sure about. 

It was small things at first, expanding on things Vogelbaum asked them to do during the experiments, make him feel different levels of happiness or guilt while explaining the difference. But when he learned she could only make him feel things she had felt things got… complicated. Complicated enough that Vogelbaum restricted their interactions to a bare minimum. 

However, when she was out from Vogelbaum’s direct supervision it had not taken it long before John, or the Homelander as he was known by then, to start showing up. To protect her, and, Aida wasn’t stupid, to progress her own career further Madenyn had intentionally drawn his attention away from her, playing on her almost maternal role in Aida’s life. A relationship that John craved. That gamble had been a major factor in her rise, and, probably, death.

Aida had expected the call since Madelyn’s death, calling her to New York. But John had asked for Ashley to take the spot, and the only call she had gotten from Mr Edgar was six months later when Compound V was public knowledge, Stormfront had been outed as a Nazi, and Payback’s golden boy was needed at Vought Tower to remind people that Vought had fought the Nazis, they even had a WWII veteran to prove it. A week after that she had been transferred to Vought Tower as well, given Madelyn’s old job. She wasn’t sure if it was John’s, Soldier Boy’s or Mr Edgar’s choice.

Standing in Madelyn’s old office she took note of how little had changed, it almost made her wonder if Ashley had used it during her brief tenure. The only thing missing, apart from Madelyn herself, was the small photo of Teddy had she had kept on her desk. However, she didn’t have to look long before finding it in the bin. Picking it up she smiled sadly, she hoped he was doing ok. She wished she could have been to the funeral, but had decided against it. Not wanting to remind John of her existence. Made little difference now, she supposed.

Sitting down behind the desk she pulled out her own laptop and distantly noted that while most things were the same, Madelyn’s own laptop and all the secrets within had been taken into safekeeping.

Outside the door, she could hear the maintenance guys working, removing Madelyn’s name and putting up hers in its place. Ashley’s had never made it up on the wall. They had barely begun before she heard an all to familiar voice demanding to know what was going on and for them to stop.

Taking a deep breath she held it for a moment and released it just as the door swung open, the maintenance guys on the floor, but seemingly alive, outside.

“Aida,” John said in a pleased tone and smiled. If she didn’t know how empty he was, she would have believed it to be genuine.

“Hello, John.” She said, smiling back at him. “It’s been too long.”

“No one calls me that anymore. It’s Homelander now,” he corrected, though as far as she could tell his mood hadn’t been dampened. “Mr Edgar told me you would be coming down to fix things.”

“It will be a team effort.” She told him. “I have been reading through Madelyn’s and Ashley’s notes.”

“Mind if I have a look? I was thereafter all.” 

“Of course. We have a lot of work in front of us.”

“Stormfront should never have been brought onto the team. I had always chosen the members before her, and we never had a fuck up like this.”

“Maybe, but as I understand it, it started before her. The driving factor was William Butcher and his team. I am told he took your son. I’m sorry.”

“He told you about him?” He asked, his tone empty and clinical. Even to Aida’s trained eye, it was difficult to tell what he was feeling, anger? 

“I needed to know everything to make things better. No surprises.”

“Did you know before?”

“No.” She said simply. “You were not my responsibility.”

“But I am now?”

“All of the Seven are. I’m here to protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection,” he told her.

“No. But due to Stormfront and the relationship you had with her, people are misunderstanding you. I will help you to get back to where you should be. America’s hero.”

“Isn’t that why Soldier Boy is here?” He asked, a hint of his anger shining threw,

“He is here to replace Stormfront. Soldier Boy is here to reshape the past. You are the leader of the Seven. You are America’s future.” She smiled at him, allowing a small sip of her powers to slip into him. "You are the Homelander." 


	2. Meeting the Seven

After John had left she allowed herself a small sigh to escape her lips. Looking back down at the documents in front of her she groaned internally. In the last year alone the Seven had killed 17 innocent Americans, not counting flight 37, the mayor of Baltimore or their escapades on the hunt of super terrorists. 17 people with friends and families that have signed iron tight NDAs. But with current events, she was wondering how ironclad they really were. 15 minutes of fame made people do stupid things and right now even Vought would have a hard time silencing the media. 

Not surprisingly Homelander could claim credit for more than half of the victims. Her main responsibility, to use Stan Edgar’s words, was to babysit Homelander. The staff could handle most of the others, but so far there have been three people John listened to on occasion; Vogelbaum, Edgar, and Madelyn. Aida was not one of them, and two were dead. The last one who had tried to make him listen was close to admittance to the looney bin. 

Mr Edgar had given her the morning to acclimatize to her new environment before he was introducing her to the rest of the Seven. And time had a way of moving faster than it ought when you least want it to. Before she knew it the man himself stood in her door, indicating she should follow.

Standing up she followed the man into what looked like an over the top boardroom with only seven seats and a table in the shape of a V. Only five of the seats were taken, and each and every one of them was ignoring the others, with the exception of A-train and the newest kid on the block, Soldier Boy. The latter looked up as he heard her enter and gave a half-smile.

“Ma’am.” he greeted with a lazy salute that made her raise an eyebrow and John to turn to look at their interaction. He was not alone, every eye was on them as she returned the greeting.

“Soldier.”

“Excellent. Everyone is here.” Mr Edgar smiled. “I would like you all to meet Aida Stillwell, she will be taking the lead in Hero Management. Starting immediately. She used to have a similar role for the Payback team in Washington before coming here. You will take her lead on everything from now on. I don’t want you to get a coffee without clearing it with her and the hero management team. We are under the microscope, we are to have a united front, and a single incident will get you kicked out of the Seven. Am I making myself clear?” 

At his question, there were a few noises of acknowledgement and a few nods from the gathered supes.

“Good, then I will leave you in her capable hands. Aida, you know where I am.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” and with that he left. Leaving her alone with the assembled heroes. For a moment there was complete silence until Maeve pushed back her chair in order to leave.

“Sit down.” John hissed, not even looking at her. She complied without a second thought, though gave him a curious glance. His attention was however completely on Aida. To whom he spoke with a much more polite tone. “We need to fill the team. We will need to keep the spot for Black Noir open a while longer, of course. He is still breathing and we don’t want to be disrespectful. That leaves us with one spot now that Soldier Boy is here.”

“First we will work on your image, as the Seven.” She told him, with a clear commanding tone that took the old team by surprise. “Your brand is America, and you just fucked a Nazi. And not in the way they would appreciate.”

“I-”

“The images leaked of her burned body are the only things keeping you afloat. You took her down.” She continued, ignoring his interruption.

“Then, what do you want me to do?” He asked through clenched teeth.

“You go nowhere without Starlight or Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy literally shot Hitler in the arse, and Starlight was the only one who “saw through” Stormfront. She is the only one who has not suffered in the polls for all of this. She is the star, her approval ratings are sky-high. That's what you want to be associated with, we are also finding you all a good crime itinerary. We are going back to the basics. No talk about compound V or the military.”

“Maeve,” She turned to the redhead. “You are going to play up the fact that Elena left you. Superheroes are human too.” She turned to the other women in the group.

“Starlight, you are single. Right?”

“What?” She almost stuttered. 

“Are you single?”

“Yeah?” She said, making it sound almost like a question. 

“I want you on a date with Homelander.”

“What?!” She almost yelped. 

“You will be spending a lot of time together. I want you sighted in a romantic setting, somewhere in nature, away from people. We will pick a good spot. It does not have to be a real date, but I want speculation. You have had no romantic interests since you joined, people are wondering.” She turned to John. “It's perfect for your brand. She is a little young but our research shows people will look past that for the golden American couple.” 

“A-train.” She continued, after a silent battle with Homelander. “How is your heart?”

“I’m feeling great.” He confirmed. “100%”

“Glad to hear it, if I hear you taking V again you are off the team for good. You will be tested every week. And your brother has agreed to return to help work with you to get back to your A-game on a few conditions. That and scheduled appearances is your only focus. No clubs or dates.”

“Soldier.” She turned to the latest addition to the team and smiled. “You are making a movie, the true story about America’s first superhero.”

“True?” He asked sceptically.

“With some artistic licensing. First a documentary and then a dramatisation. It is part of a bigger project with the Vought marketing team to rebrand Vought.”

“Let me guess, Fredrik is looking for redemption and confides in a young American soldier who promises to help him. And so the first American superhero is born?”

“Isn’t that how it happened?” She asked, making Soldier Boy laugh and John scowl.

"Great, that's it for today. I will schedule a one on one with each one of you this week."


	3. #Starlander

Aida had not gotten further than a few doors from the boardroom after the meeting before she heard one of the heroes coming after her, surprisingly it was not John. 

“Hey!” Starlight called out, hurrying up behind her. 

Stopping to turn around she was greeted with a genuine smile. 

“Thanks. Sorry. Could I talk with you?”

“Sure. Let’s go to my office.” She suggested, with a small smile.

“Ok.” She agreed, easily falling into step with her. “Welcome to Vought Tower by the way. Didn’t get a chance to say it earlier.”

“Thank you, it’s strange being back here. I tried to avoid it, to be honest with you.”

“Because of Madelyn?”

“In a way.” She agreed. “There were many factors. But I really look forward to working with you. I have heard good things, despite your misunderstanding with Homelander.”

“Yeah, that is sort of what I would like to talk with you about.” She confessed, twisting her hands nervously. That was something they would have to work on.

“You don’t like him?”

“It’s not that.” She lied. “It’s just… he kicked me off the Seven. Labelled me a traitor. I just don’t think people will buy it.”

“That’s why they will buy it,” Aida told her bluntly, before softening her tone. “You don’t have to love him, it would be better if you don’t. But you will have to smile sweetly at him in front of the cameras, you will lean into his touch as you do events together. People love a good love story. That’s what you will give them.” 

“I won’t.” She denied, her voice stronger than before. She was working herself up to fight back.

“You will, it’s in your contract.”

“I thought I was your star.”

“You are.” She agreed easily. “You are also new. You are not established. Your base is easily shifted. As I said, it doesn’t have to be real. I know I am asking a lot of you.” Starlight emotions were all over her face, it was easy enough to read how to tweak them to make her more agreeable. “I don’t want to make an enemy of you. I want us to work together. You are the only genuine hero in the group, you want to do good. I read your file, saw your tape. If you do this for the Seven, I will let you fight real crime. Make a real difference” Smiling she added. “And get you your skirt back.”

“For how long?”

By the time Starlight left her office, Aida was not quite sure where to place her. She was not quite what Ashley’s and Madelyn’s notes would indicate. There was more than a desire to do good that drove her, and she did not want to be there. Not really. Being part of the Seven had not lived up to expectations. She just needed to find where the turning point was so she could fix it. They could not afford to lose Starlight, no matter what she had said. She really was their star at the moment, she had also gotten her hands on a video that could make her even more if leaked at the right time, of her and Maeve fighting Stormfront. She just had to identify the Asian girl first.

She was looking at Starlight’s unscripted confession from the Believe Expo when Homelander came through the door, looking around with interest. As if he had not been in the office thousands of times before.

“You will have to learn to knock.” She told him, closing her laptop.

“I saw you were alone.” he dismissed, tapping his temple with his finger. “Now, would you explain this harebrained love story of yours?”

“I thought I had.”

“She is a child.”

“From what I remember that has not stopped you before.” 

“That was different,” he told her dismissively. “You are only 9 years my junior.”

“I was thirteen.”

“I stopped.” he dismissed. “And we are talking about Starlight. It will not help my brand. I could date Maeve again, our ratings were through the roof when we started dating last time.”

“She is a lesbian, if you have forgotten. You support that. And she is 24. It’s her or a norm.” She told him. “Predictions say you would go up 5.9 points if you find love with a norm from a minority group, preferably Hispanic. Not as high as Starlight, but a sizable enough boost that we can work with it. Starlight would give you a 7.2 point boost.”

“7.2?” he said, for the first time sounding as if he was considering it. “Fine, but only for a few months.”

“Good. Make it seem to develop naturally.”

“ #Homelighter will be trending in no time.”

“Actually, #Starlander tests better.”

“You work quickly.”

“I had a week to prepare. And the team is good. Madelyn picked the best.”

“That she did.” He agreed distantly as his eyes wandered over to a photo of the two of them, before shaking it off. “Now, what is your relationship with Soldier Boy.”

“Soldier Boy?” 

“Yes, you seem very... friendly.” He said, turning his full attention on her.

“He has been one of mine for five years. He was my first.”

“Your first, what?” He asked, moving closer, his nose nearly touching hers by the time he uttered the last word.

“Superhero I managed.”

“Good.” He stepped back. “Just remember that you are in the big leagues now, and I am the Seven.”


	4. Queen Maeve

“I’m not putting Elena through that.” Maeve refused. “She is a good person.”

“She broke your heart.”

“And I deserved it.” She dismissed

“Then how do you suggest we spin this? You broke up with her?”

“The truth. Elena is a very private person. She does not want to be in limelight.”

“People have no sympathy for that. You signed away your right to privacy the second you put on the cape. Give me something we can work with.”

“Elena didn’t. Homelander outed us on national TV and Vought forced her in front of the camera. She never signed up for anything.”

“Then let’s say the fame became too much for her. It’s the truth. And one people will sympathise with you over.”

“They will go after Elena.”

“We can protect her. Either way, she knew what she was risking by being with you.”

“If she is harassed in any way...” she warned.

“We will do our best,” Aida promised. “Can we move on? Believe it or not, this is not what I wanted to discuss with you today.”

“Then what?”

“Your brand. You are strong, independent, and a humanitarian who gives millions to charities every year. You’re the ultimate role model for little girls all over the world. As such we want you to stand up and take up more room, become more independent of Homelander.” 

“He will love that.” She told her dryly.

“We want you to stand up for women’s rights.” She continued, ignoring the comment.

“Isn’t that Starlight’s brand?”

“You will naturally work with her some, but people find her too young and inexperienced to take a stand on more political issues, such as gender equality, women’s right to choose, to vote, to education. Starlight’s base is too conservative, her focus will be standing up against sexual exploitation of women. Yours is more liberal, ready for a stronger stance.”

“Aren’t you being a little hypocritical? You just told Starlight who to date, the next day you want to fight gender inequality?”

“I want you to fight for gender equality.” She corrected Maeve. “As for Starlight and Homelander, that has nothing to do with gender politics. That is simply good PR. It will benefit both.”

“Fine, then why the turn around? Before Vought wanted us to keep away from anything controversial.”

“Whether we want to be involved or not is irrelevant now. With the outing of Stormfront we have little choice. Now it's about controlling the narrative. Besides, this is something you wanted to stand up for before. I read your request. Have your feels on the matter changed?“

“That was years ago, and I was shut down flat.”

“Things change.” She told her bluntly.

“I remember when you joined the Seven. You were the first strong female superhero. The rest was backup for the male supes. But you, you fought your way to the second spot within the strongest superhero team there is, all on your own. You were strong in your own right.” She smiled at the sceptical redhead. “But in the last few years, you have been losing that. By letting you fight for the issues that you care about, I am hoping Queen Maeve will come back to us, be the inspiring voice she used to be.”

“You are going to let all of us choose what to stand for? Choose our brands?” She asked she did not believe her. Rightly so.

“I want each of you to have a stronger individual brand, not just Homelander. And I want it to stand for what is right and just, The Seven brand. Recently you have all been in Homelander’s shadow. We are going to change that.”

“And how is Homelander taking that?”

“You are a team.”

“You obviously don’t know him very well.”

“I have been with Vought longer than you think. Madelyn raised me. I know who he is.”

“We will see.” She said, taking in Aida from top to toe with a critical glance. “Fine, we will try your way.”

Halfway out the door she turned around and with a hint of sympathy added. “I’m sorry for your loss.” And with that, she was gone.

The door had barely closed before Jenna from marketing popped her head in. “Are you ready for the meeting with the writer? He is really excited to get your input on the script before showing it to Soldier Boy. He is a huge fan and a bit nervous.”

“I haven’t had time to read the script. Anthony was going to handle this.”

“Well, Mr Allard wants your input, as someone who has worked with Soldier Boy for years. Soldier Boy saved his grandfather’s life during WWII and he wants to make sure he doesn’t offend him.”

“He is not easily offended, don’t say anything bad about Churchill, don’t portray him as naive and make sure he is the star of the movie. Preferably with an A-list actress as the female lead. He prefers brunettes. Mr Edgar has already signed off on the script.”

“Please? He is insisting.”

“I have 15 minutes.”

“Thank you, you are a lifesaver.”

“I thought that was my job.” Soldier Boy’s familiar voice called from the door. “I’m early.”

“Seems I will have to go down and talk to the writer about your movie. I will have to push our meeting, 15 minutes tops.”

“The script is done?” He asked, sounding quite pleased.”Is it good?”

“Brilliant. We just have to confirm the director before we can give you the full breakdown.” She smiled apologetically. “The effects are going to be amazing, it will be like going back in time.”

“Wanna make it a lunch meeting instead?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”


	5. Halloween

Returning from lunch all Aida could do was stare at the skimpy dress on her office sofa, if it could be called that.

“Matilda!!” She yelled out for her assistant who came running in. “What is that?”

“Your costume.” She told her, following her fingers.

“Costume?”

“For tonight's Halloween party? We are doing a reverse role this year? We dress as the heroes and the heroes will dress up as us norms. I admit I’m afraid to see some of the people from Crime logistics.” She said, her joke falling short as Aida took in the familiar costume. 

“Homelander brought it over, he said it was miss-delivered. Isn’t it yours?”

“I didn’t know they were sending it here. Thought it would be sent to my quarters.”

“Well, at least it’s here.”

“Yeah..”

As Matilda left Aida walked over to the costume, fighting to keep her face neutral. This was the costume they had initially designed for her before they decided her abilities were more useful behind the scenes, if not she would have joined the Seven when she was 18. She didn’t know how John had gotten it.

As she came closer she noted that he had done some upgrades. The skirt was substantially shorter and the V neck was almost as deep as Starlight’s. But other than that it was just as she remembered it, pale blue, white cape, and white boots. How the hell had he gotten this? 

She had stopped wanting to be a superhero the first time Madelyn took her for ice cream after they had convinced a group of politicians to approve city assigned heroes. She had hated this suit when they showed it to her. She didn’t hate it anymore, but it was almost like looking into a different world. Had she put that on all those years ago, she would have been one of them. 

Would she have been as disillusioned as Maeve? As self-absorbed as John? As desperate to remain as A-train? Or would she had been friends with them? Would she have made things better? Would she have balanced Homelander the way Dr Vogelbaum had originally planned before Mr Edgar stepped in?

It didn’t matter. That suit meant nothing, it had been dropped before they even had decided on a superhero name for her.

As the evening came closer a group of girls from makeup commandeered her office, while smiling excitedly. Apparently, Homelander had personally asked them to help make her ready, and to “give her the hero experience”. She wasn’t sure what he wanted to accomplish with it, but she gave in. 

The costume fit perfectly, she wondered if John had been arranged that too, everyone changed in 15 years. Everyone. But this fit as if it had been made for her yesterday. It was almost surreal looking at herself in the mirror, even more so by the time the excited team was done with her.

“You could be in the Seven.” one of them told her excitedly as if it was the greatest compliment she could ever give.

“That would be something.” She smiled, 

As the elevator pinged and she stepped out on the main floor she understood what Matilda had meant, some of the people surrounding her should not be seen in superhero costumes. I was comic really, most were dressed as their favourite heroes in cheap costume replicas. One would have thought people working at Vought would invest in better ones. 

A few feet away, by the window, she saw something that didn’t fit in with all the spandex. Standing there, talking to some of the girls from marketing was Soldier Boy dressed in full WWII military regalia. She hadn't even told him to do it. He would without a doubt make the first page tomorrow. He made quite the figure. 

As her eyes continued to move around the room, she almost froze as her eyes landed on John. It had been two decades since she last saw him in anything other than his Homelander suit. Most people would probably find his choice of clothes odd, but like Soldier Boy he had chosen to go back in time, dressed in cargo pants and a simple grey t-shirt. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to pull though, it was hardly a happy time for either of them in the compound. Especially not him.

“Now this is you.” He greeted her, moving towards her, gesturing towards her with both hands and a wide grin. “A real superhero.”

“When you have a professional makeup team making you ready, anyone can look like a superhero.”

“No. Look at all of them, playing dress-up. They are pathetic." He told him gesturing around the room with one hand. "But you, you are magnificent. I thought it would be fun for you to know what it could have been like being here like this. This could still be you, all the time. All you have to do is say the word. ”

“I prefer things the way they are, with you in the cape and me behind a desk.”

“You could be so much more.” He told her as if saddened for her.

“I’m here to protect you, not to be a superhero. Let me.” She told him, looking at him with pleading eyes. However, before he had a chance to reply A-train came over, throwing his arm around her shoulders, grinning down at her.

“Don’t you look good!” He told her, looking her over from top to toe in appreciation until his eyes met John’s slightly murderous glance. “Sorry man, didn’t recognise you! Didn’t mean to interrupt.“ 

“You are not.” Aida smiled at him. “And thank you. I will admit I feel like a fraud.”

“Who are you dressed as? I don’t recognise the suit.”

“I was informed about the event today, this was an old costume wardrobe had laying around. Not sure if it was ever used by anyone.”

“Well, you look smoakin’. You would make one hot superhero.”


	6. Planning

Aida smiled as she watched the news. Maeve had been talking up gender equality for the last few weeks, she was radiant. Queen Maeve was making a real comeback, and her approval ratings among liberals were shooting up after floating on a respectable 5.8 for years. This was the girl Aida had been inspired by at uni.

Now all she had to do was get the Homeland/Starlight angle setup. Mr Edgar was not a patient man, and while he appreciated the work on Mave and Soldier Boy, his main concern was Homelander. Always Homelander. She wondered how Madelyn did it, talking with John was like walking on a minefield, and using her power on him without his knowledge was always a gamble. 

He knew exactly what she could do, and while he liked to make use of it, it was only on his terms. The only saving grace was that the last time she had been around him she had only had an on and offsetting. The gradual increase to make it seem natural, even to someone who knew what she could do, had taken decades to master. Yet Madelyn had been able to handle Homelander for 15 years without a hint of superpowers.

He would come into her office unannounced at least once per day, mostly to rant about the unfairness of it all. But occasionally he let something slip that was not in her files. 

1\. He had without a doubt been the one to kill Madelyn.

2\. The only genuine concern she had detected when he spoke of his son was the probability that they had made him a lab rat just like they had made them. Whether the concern was due to past trauma or for Ryan, that was harder to tell. 

3\. He was the one who had created the super terrorists. She wondered if Mr Edgar was aware of that particular tidbit. John certainly didn’t feel his hard work got the appreciation it deserved though.

“Since when does Maeve care about women’s education?” He asked, his gaze lazily resting on the screen. “Unless it was in the bedroom?”

“On average she gives away 37% of her earnings to various charities,” Aida told him. “She has been instrumental in opening multiple schools for girls in Africa in the last five years. A-train gives athletic scholarship to at-risk city youths. You should consider doing something as well.”

“Most of it is in the stock market.” He told her. “It’s not like I need it.”

“Then why not set up a charity?”

“For what?” He scoffed.

“Orphans?”

“I’m not an orphan, my mother sold me. She lives in Brooklyn.” 

“You found her?” She asked, surprised.

“Madelyn thought it would be good to have someone I look like in the photos from my childhood home. Even offered her a pretty sum to pretend to have raised me for one of the earlier segments. She wouldn’t even do that. Didn’t want her husband to know.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why? At least mine didn’t try to kill me.”

“Thanks for the reminder.” She said sarcastically. “Why are you here?”

“You wanted to discuss my new dating life.”

“Right.” She sighed. “You two have a booking tomorrow, a children's hospital. Make a wish foundation.”

“I don’t do those, send A-Train.”

“He is only allowed to do scripted events. And you are the one the boy wants to meet. You saved his mother when she was pregnant, one of your first saves. Even better, she is an African American woman. This could not have come at a better time.” She told him. 

“Wow,” he said, blinking at her in mock astonishment. “Tell me what you really think.”

“After you are done playing nice with that boy you are going to leave to go sit on a deserted bench by yourself behind the hospital. Starlight will come looking for you. She will sit next to you, and after a while, she will take your hand and place her head on your shoulder in comfort. And within an hour a cellphone video of that intimate meeting of heroes will be going viral.”

“Fine.” He agreed. “But first I want you to make me feel... appreciated.”

“To anyone else that would sound like you were asking for a blowjob.” She told him bluntly, it was the first time he had asked her to use her ability. 

“That would work too, if you are offering.”

Rolling her eyes, she allowed her mind to wander to her first mission, to Madelyn's excitement over her gift. It was the first time she had thought of her abilities in such a way. Capturing that feeling she allowed it to flow out of her in a wave, crashing against John, for a few seconds.

“Well, that was different” he commented, when she stopped, before walking up to her and placing his hand on her cheek until she looked up to meet his eyes. “Sometimes I forget how special you really are, sitting here, pretending to be one of them.”


	7. Interlude: the Hospital

He had stopped doing events like this years ago, he hated hospitals. They reminded him of the compound, he supposed it was all the white coats. But even he was aware his brand was taking a nosedive after recent events. It’s not as if they had gone public. But that didn’t seem to matter, so he would play along for now. Everything he had done and sacrificed for them, for this country. Unappreciative, disloyal mud monkeys the lot of them. The length he went to for them...

He put on a smile and walked up to the boy, the cameras already set up. Sitting next to the boy was a woman he recognised. Aida was right when it was one of his firsts. The years had not done her any favours, she used to be pretty at least. Nevertheless, he appreciated the genuine gratitude in her eyes as she looked at him with an almost worship like quality. At least everyone hadn’t forgotten. 

The boy was a weak thing, but, like his mother, at least he showed the reverence he deserved as he saw him move closer. Perhaps he would consider doing more of these things. He would see how it would all turn out in the polls first of course. His time was valuable and while most appearances at least gave him a pretty penny, these were pro bono. 

After making sure the cameras got a good show, making sure to play up his concern for the child and mother and making the boy laugh, he excused himself to go find Starlight. Heading straight to the agreed-upon bench.

At first glance it looked completely deserted, he was surprised to detect a group of genuine teens hidden behind the bushes and trees. It made him curious, Madelyn always used a professional crew. But he ignored them, he would trust Aida, for now. He had seen Maeve’s popularity shoot up, even A-train’s was growing. Yet his remained, though at least it had stopped decreasing. 

He sat alone on the bench for a good 10 minutes, and he had to bite back his annoyance at Starlight for making him wait. She needed to be put in her place. But that would have to wait. Aat least when she came, she played her role perfectly. Her acting had certainly improved. He would almost believe her. As the scripted part finished he decided to do some improvisation. Offering his hand to a reluctant Starlight as he stood up, he pulled her into an embrace before he made a vertical take-off, her arms clenching onto him a little too tight. His takeoffs were always a fan favourite, it might just be enough for a front-page shot.


	8. Crime-fighting

Waking up the following morning Aida made her coffee, put a slice of bread in the toaster, and grabbed the paper. The large photo of John flying off with Starlight in his arms on the front page, however, made her growl and throw it all in the bin. As she walked into the office an hour later she was still fuming. It was a simple assignment. Simple.

“This was not what we had agreed on,” Aida said throwing the paper down in front of the two superheroes waiting for her, glaring at the two of them. 

“What did you want me to do? Start yelling?” Starlight asked. 

“No. This is not on you.” She said, turning to glare at John. “I’m blaming you”

“What are you upset about? This is a great shoot. We made the front page, the rumours are circling. You got what you wanted.”

“What I wanted was to humanise you!” She yelled at him. “You taking off with a hot blonde in your arms is not going to do that!”

“This is better.” He said back, trying to bite back his own temper.

“This is not what you were supposed to do. It was simple!”

“People don’t tell me what to do.”

“Since when?” She asked, narrowing his eyes.

“‘Ida, tread carefully.” He told her, gripping on to the sofa as if to stop himself.

“John, this is going to help you for 5 minutes. It will give you a temporary push. If you had done it my way..”

“What’s the difference?”

“This one shows off your superpowers. We were trying to give you depth. Everyone knows you can fly, everyone knows you can shoot lasers through your eyes. This is all old news. We tried to give them something new, something that would stay interesting.”

“Well this is better, they don’t need new. They just need to be reminded of who I am without flashing Stormfront’s picture next to mine. She is below me. I’m fucking Homelander, not a plus one.”

“Then act like ‘fucking Homelander’. Homelander is Vought’s creation. The good all American boy with superpowers, and do what you are told.”

“Excuse me.” Both of them turned to Starlight in perfect unity, seemingly having forgotten she was there. “Is there a reason I’m here?”

“Sorry,” Aida apologised. “Yes, there is. You did great yesterday, thank you.”

“Why are you thanking her? I did all the work. I got us the front page.”

“John-”

“I’m not fucking ‘John’! I’m Homelander.”

“Then act like it.” She hissed back before forcing a smile as she looked at Starlight who was watching them in disbelief.

“Sorry. As I said, thank you. Also, I saw your meeting with Lissie. I’m sure she really appreciated it.

“I wish I could do more, she is such a brave girl.”

“Yes, she is truly inspiring,” Aida said, her smile becoming more natural. “Now, the reason I asked both of you here. Tonight you two will work together to bust a smuggling ring. Human trafficking.” She told them, earning Starlight's full attention, while John rolled his eyes. “I want no casualties. Even the smugglers will be facing trial, incapacitating them by all means. But no casualties unless it is to save their victims.”

“Why? They are the bad guys, people want to see them dead.”

“No, most people don’t.” She told him. “And you know this, in 90% of your movies you don’t kill the villain. You arrest them, and there is a reason for that. Also this time we are trying something new.”

“New?“ John asked with a sceptical tone.

“You won’t have a film crew. You will be wearing body cams. Allowing people to see things from your perspective.” 

“No crew?” Starlight tasked, sounding far more optimistic. “No script?”

“No, we want it to be more real. Recently we have seen a decreased level of engagement concerning your crime-fighting and we think this new angle will really work for us. As I said, back to the basics. Show them what you are really all about.”

“When?” she asked excitedly. 

“According to crime logistics, there should be a new shipment of girls coming in tonight, 2200. You will both be given a brief, and I want you both to go and get fitted for the body cams at 1800, you need to learn how to move with them on, without decreasing visibility.”

“Sure.” She agreed easily. John, however, was quiet.

“Homelander?” Aida asked expectantly. 

“Fine.”

“And no casualties?”

“No casualties.” he agreed. “But it is the most efficient way to get vermin of the streets.”

“Thank you.”


	9. Reactions I

She was sitting with the hero management analytics team, going through the responses to the bust the previous night. The Vought views were going into the millions worldwide, the news was picking it up, it was the main focus of the Good morning America. It was the topic on everyone's mind, from “flying with the Homelander” to martial arts experts analysing Starlights moves and reaction time. It was everywhere.

“This is amazing.” one of the guys said. “We are getting more publicity than when we stopped that bank robbery, and that was already on the national news when Maeve and Homelander showed up”. 

“But will it last?” Aida said, ever the realist. “I want you to follow the buzz life, without any direct additional actions from our side.”

“Will do.”

“Just observe, do nothing. I want to follow the organic development without paid input. Next time we will use affiliates and influencers.”

“Got it, boss.”

“And keep me updated.” She added with a smile as she headed out the door.

Heading up to the 99th floor and to the Seven boardroom, she plastered a smile on her face before opening the doors. 

Stepping inside she didn't think she had ever seen Anthony look so relieved to see her, indicating a problem with Homelander and Soldier boy. If his eye movements were anything to go by.

“Boys.” She said, drawing their attention. “Is there a problem?”

“No.” Soldier Boy told her, before sending a glare at John. Who seemed to be of another opinion. 

“The story arc makes us look ordinary. “

“No! It’s-” Anthony tried before Aida stepped in.

“How so?”

“Like we are created in test tubes.”

“ It tells a story, how Vought brought forward something extraordinary from ordinary men and women.” She countered. 

“Oh, come on. Don’t give me that bull.” He snapped.

“Can we talk about this later?” She asked, “Or you can take it up with Mr Edgar. He really likes this version. And so do I.”

“Why are we even here? Are we even in the movie?” Maeve asked, sounding bored.

“Of course. Final scene.” Anthony told her. “To show what all this has led to, the mightiest heroes in the world. The Seven,”

“That’s it?” Homelander asked, “A footnote?”

“It’s a kickoff note,” Aida assured. “We are rebranding, and this is the kickoff. All of you will get your own movie where we humanise you, tell people why you became heroes, rather than how.”

“This is ridiculous,” John announced before leaving the room, while Aida looked sky wise a second, as if begging for strength, before she looked back at the others. All who were all watching her with varying expressions from confusion to astonishment.

“Sorry about that.” She apologised. “The reason you were all taken through the arch is that we want you all to know the official version. This is how it happened, and you will support it as if your very lives depended on it. Right, Soldier Boy?”

“It’s like reliving my life, ma’am.”

“Good.” She turned to look at Starlight. “I just wanted to say that you did brilliantly yesterday.”

“If possible I would prefer doing it this way? Maybe I can be more involved in the research and planning phase as well?”

“Could be an interesting angle, let me think about it.” Aida offered with genuine interest.

“Soldier, Maeve. A-train.” She said, turning to the other heroes. “Have you seen last night’s bust?”

“How could we miss it? It’s everywhere.” Maeve answered for them. 

“Good. The initial response is really promising. We are going to try the same format for your saves next week. I want you to check in witch tech during the week to get fitted and get some training in what to avoid doing while wearing it. There was some problem with the image quality during certain moves. Luckily there was a surveillance cam we could cut to, but we would prefer to avoid that this time. Also, A-train they will need to do some tests on how they hold up with your speed.”

Leaving the meeting room and heading to her office, she braced herself for what she was going to find. John had barely held himself back in the meeting. There were three options she could think of, 

1\. He was raging in her office.  
2\. He had stormed out to take out his anger on someone else.  
3\. He had gone to Edgar.

Option one would certainly be her preferred option. If only to give her a chance to calm him down.


	10. Reactions II

Stopping in front of the door she tried to hear if he was inside before she entered. But her hearing was only slightly better than a norm and unless John was hitting something or throwing things she was unlikely to hear him. Though as the door was pushed open she could see him pacing back and forth and she found herself releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

“What the hell is he trying to pull.” He all but growled, his eyes lit red from within, and Aida had to swallow and remind herself that she was perhaps the only person on earth who could make him stop. There was a reason Vogelbaum had kept her. Though they have never put it to the test.

“Calm down.” She told him, her voice softer than she had intended to. Nevertheless, it seemed to work as John’s eyes returned to their normal blue hue. She almost had to wonder if he had accidentally used her powers. It happened occasionally. 

“He is making us look like fucking lab experiments.”

“What did you expect them to do after Compound V became common knowledge. They can hardly claim we are chosen by god anymore, can they? And you have always known where we come from.”

“Not everyone is compatible, levels of power differ even with the same amount of V. We are special,”

“And you expect them to go out and say that? Show the freaks? Vought would look like monsters. This is about making Vought look good. This is why they even have their superheroes. To show what good the compound can do. First and foremost Vought is a pharmaceutical company.”

“They need us.”

“Yes.” She agreed. “We are proof of a successful product.”

“You are okay with that?” He asked disbelievingly. 

“They are not making you anything less than you were. They are just controlling the narrative. It’s not like this is news to you.”

“Soldier Boy-”

“It’s not like you haven’t seen movies about the other members of the Seven before. This is a minor thing. Why are you so upset by it?”

“They are all turning on me. Being in the Seven, in my team, used to be an achievement, an honour. Now they even dare to try to blackmail me.”

“The team?” She asked, genuinely curious. As far as she had seen they all had a healthy amount of fear when it came to John. Who was trying to blackmail him?

“Maeve has a recording from flight 37. I’m not sure how she got it.” He admitted, looking away in disgust. “She threatened to make it public.”

“That would destroy her too.”

“She knows.” he bit out. “I’m handling it.” He dismissed.

“I can help.” She offered. 

“No.” He cut her off firmly. “I will handle Maeve. You take care of the rest of this trainwreck. Starlight is hiding something, probably something to do with Hughie Campbell. A-train is pathetic. He is an embarrassment to the Seven, he is not even among the 20 fastest anymore. And Soldier Boy, just make sure he knows his place. Is there any news on Black Noir?”

“He is improving. He should wake up any day now. But how much that is left of him remains to be seen. ”

“I’m also working on finding a 7th. I would like your input.” She told him, earning herself a pleased smile from him. “We have narrowed it down. We need someone with an ethnic background, which limits our prospect pool. But we have some strong contenders.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“First we have the Samurai. The problem with him is his base is very close to Black Noir. I’m thinking we leave him unless Noir needs to be replaced.” She told him. He nodded. “Another option considered is Shout Out, however, his powers are very similar to Stormfront, which we want to stay away from right now. So, our main contenders are Nubian Prince and Señora Muerte.”

“We are not taking on another fucking female.” Homelander told her bluntly. But didn’t explain himself. “And Nubian Prince is nowhere near Seven material.”

“Less than 8% of the people who have been given Compound V are of Ethnic descent. Our choices are limited.”

“I will find someone.” He told her, making her regret bringing him in on the decision. After his complaints about the others, she was fairly sure he would regard Nubian Prince as the lesser evil compared to Señora Muerte. Hence why she had thrown in the name. As far as she could see he was their best option, especially if A-train’s time was limited. She thought it was a done deal. Their focus groups liked him, and he wouldn’t step on anyone's toes. Hell, even Homelander had spoken favourably about him in the past. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. 

“Shit” Summarised the conversation nicely after John left. At least he no longer seemed likely to go on the warpath. He had other things to focus on now. And so did she. If Maeve released that video it could be the end of Vought, currently, their strength was being the only option available to fight the Super Terrorists… but if the Homelander was seen killing a plane full of American civilians… She doubted even Mr Edgar could spin that.


End file.
